1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to, among other things, systems for handling mail (including, e.g., flats, envelopes, letters, postcards and/or other mail) and/or other objects, and certain preferred embodiments relate, more particularly, to a tray transfer system for automatically transferring trays of mail between dollies and conveyor belts.
2. Background Discussion
Currently, a variety of systems are used for the handling of objects, such as, e.g., thin objects like mail flats and/or other mail. For example, the United States Postal Service (USPS) uses various systems to facilitate and enhance the handling of mail flats. An example of one system is an automated flats sorting machine (AFSM), such as the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine built by Northrop Grumman Corporation and Rapistan Systems and used by the USPS. The AFSM100™ flats sorting machine is a mail sorting system that can process, e.g., large pieces of flat mail, such as for example magazines, in large volumes.
The USPS AFSM100™ flats sorting machine has three high-speed feeders (6000 pieces per hour). This high-speed automation has increased the demand of mail on system feeders. Operational experience has shown that this demand is challenging for operators to meet. Operators are required to place approximately 10″ of mail onto a feeder per minute. Mail must be placed in proper orientation (binding down with the mailing label facing to the right) and ‘groomed’ to ensure proper system operation. In order to reduce the requirements on feeder operators, USPS pre-processes mail fed into this machinery. In the pre-processing step mail is converted from its current container to automation compatible trays (ACTs). This step requires additional floor space at the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine to perform the conversion. Sufficient floor space near the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine is often unavailable in many processing centers. This unavailability of sufficient floor space necessitates physically separating the pre-processing of mail and the sorting of mail. A method of transporting ACTs between the pre-processing location and the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine is needed.
Mail pre-processing times could either be faster or slower than the processing time of the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine. This depends in part on the type of mail that is pre-processed and the number of operators available to pre-process mail. The difference in the processing rates may cause periodic lag times where the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine has no mail to sort or times where the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine cannot sort the mail fast enough. Due to the varying processing rates it is therefore desirable to ‘buffer’ or store ACTs with mail. If the storage process is cheap and efficient then it is possible for the AFSM100™ flats sorting machine and mail pre-processing to operate at separate times.
There are a significant number of USPS mail processing centers in the country (˜200). The amount of storage required, as well as the amount of floor space available varies. Therefore, it is desirable to easily vary the amount of storage.
Therefore, a need exists for a system that can overcome, among other things, the above and/or other problems with the existing system.